By Stephanie Stahl PHILaDELPHIA (CBS) Traumatic brain injuries are often fatal or leave people with severe disabilities. Now a breakthrough treatment is being tested here in Philadelphia that could change everything. 3 On Your Side Health Reporter speaks with a patient who wasnt expect to survive. It was the worst kind of accident, a motorcycle crash. He wasnt wearing a helmet, and suffered a catastrophic brain injury. It was heart breaking. It was tough, said Anna Huffman, whos husband Roger was in the accident this past October. Doctors said he was close to death. If he survived he could be severely disabled. If it was paralyzed or death, Id take the death, said Roger. There were weeks of uncertainty, and desperation for the Pottsgrove couple whove been married 46 years. When I was in the hospital I had a love hate relationship with her. I love seeing her coming to the hospital to see me. Oh God did I hate to see her leave, said Roger. There are no more painful goodbyes. 65-year-old Roger beat the odds and is fine now, except for being a little more emotional than usual. His remarkable recovery might be because of a new experimental … Continue reading →

Newswise Charlottesville, Va.; and Rolling Meadows, Ill. Clinicians from the University of Utah report the death of a patient who received a mild brain injury from a ground-level fall while taking the new anticoagulant dabigatran etexilate for nonvalve related atrial fibrillation. The authors describe the events that led from a mild traumatic brain injury to the mans death, the largely irreversible dangers of massive hemorrhage from direct thrombin inhibitors such as dabigatran, and the few management options that can be used to counteract this uncontrollable bleeding. Their findings and suggestions can be found in the article Neurosurgical complications of direct thrombin inhibitorscatastrophic hemorrhage after mild traumatic brain injury in a patient receiving dabigatran. Case report, by Drs. Sarah Garber, Walavan Sivakumar, and Richard Schmidt, published online March 6 in the Journal of Neurosurgery (click here to see the case report). The take-away message is that bleeding complications associated with direct thrombin inhibitors, such as dabigatran, are largely irreversible. Physicians should suspect the strong potential for catastrophic hemorrhage in patients taking these medications so that available, albeit limited, management options can be put into effect without delay. Dabigatran etexilate (Pradaxa) is an oral anticoagulant (blood thinner) recently approved by the US … Continue reading →

By Drew Brooks Staff writer The explosion and the months that followed are still a blur to Sgt. Maj. Richard Steele, but the effects of the blast on his brain still linger. The Special Forces soldier was in a vehicle hit by insurgents in Timagara, Pakistan, on Feb. 3, 2010. The attack left Steele with traumatic brain injury. But like many other soldiers with similar injuries, he hid the symptoms so he could return to duty sooner, despite the short-term memory loss, headaches and dizziness. Steele shared his story at Womack Army Medical Center on Tuesday, speaking at a program to raise awareness of traumatic brain injuries within the military. March is Brain Injury Awareness Month in the Army. Maj. Gen. Richard Stone, the Army's deputy surgeon general, and Brig. Gen. Christian Juneau, a Fort Bragg deputy commanding general, also spoke. Stone said he came to the "center of Army combat power" to spread the message that traumatic brain injuries are serious. Too often, he said, soldiers try to hide the signs of brain injuries to get back to work - a dangerous practice that only puts them at greater risk. Stone said the number of such injuries reported by … Continue reading →

A traumatic brain injury can happen at anytime, anywhere, and to anyone. The Mind Matters 2012 Brain Injury Conference on March 7-8, 2012, at the Radisson Hotel in Bismarck, aims to educate medical and other treatment professionals, veterans, brain injury survivors and their family members, and others about the prevalence and effects of brain injury and the recovery process. An entire day will be dedicated to traumatic brain injury issues facing men and woman serving in the armed forces. A brain injury can have a dramatic impact on a persons life, as well as the lives of family and friends, said Richard Ott, executive director of Head Injury Association of North Dakota. This conference offers dialogue from a variety of perspectives to better understand brain injuries and their long-lasting effects. The morning keynote presentation on March 7 features Harvey Jacobs, Ph.D., a psychologist and behavior analyst, who will provide an in-depth look at behavioral changes caused by traumatic brain injuries. Afternoon presentations include recognizing the causes, consequences, and challenges traumatic brain injuries have on individuals, families and communities, long-term rehabilitation, pain control, transition planning for community living, and more. There will also be a panel discussion featuring three people living … Continue reading →